ORWIGSBURG - Schuylkill County football fans, meet Darion Jacoby.
The Pottsville freshman running back broke onto the scene in a major way Friday night, helping the Crimson Tide capture the Clash of 61 Trophy with a 23-21 victory over Blue Mountain at the Eagles' Nest.
The 5-foot-9, 160-pounder rushed for 108 of his team-high 141 yards after halftime as Pottsville scored on its first three possessions of the second half to take control.
Selected as the Schuylkill Valley Sports and Shock Doctors Pottsville MVP by the media, Jacoby breathed life into a Crimson Tide running game that gained minus-1 yard in last week's loss to Berwick and just 36 yards in the first half Friday.
"I can't say enough about Darion," Pottsville coach
Tom McGeoy said. "He carried us on his back in the second half.
"He's a heck of a player. If we Darion some space, he can make some plays. Tonight we got him some space, and he made some big plays for us. Running the ball, catching it on screens.
"He's a special kid. He's only a freshman, so I like the future with that."
Jacoby's performance - and that of his offensive line - helped sway the momentum in Pottsville's favor after Blue Mountain (1-2) dominated the first half.
Statistically, Blue Mountain outgained Pottsville 230-39 in the first half, mustered 11 first downs to the Tide's 2, and had a 38-15 advantage in plays.
The Eagles scored on their opening possession, as Dakota Roberts raced 43 yards for a touchdown on the fourth play of the game. After that, however, costly mistakes prevented Blue Mountain from taking total control.
An errant snap on a punt led to Pottsville's first score, as Jacoby plunged in from 2 yards out to tie the game with 3:40 left in the first quarter.
Blue Mountain took a 14-7 lead into halftime after a 10-play, 96-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard run by Will Bornstein. But the Eagles were hampered all night by key penalties, poor tackling on defense and three dropped interceptions.
"We kept saying over and over again that the team that makes the fewest mistakes was going to win the football game," Blue Mountain coach Cory Mabry said. "Tonight, unfortunately, we made too many mistakes."
Despite the discrepancy in numbers, Pottsville trailed by just seven points at halftime.
"We didn't have the ball a whole lot in the first half. We tried to stick to the game plan," McGeoy said. "We wanted to set the tone with our first drive, and I was proud of our guys for how they stepped up and did it."
The game plan was to run Jacoby, run Jacoby and run Jacoby some more.
With an offensive line that included Dan Grosser, Kobey Azbell, Ryan Bertsch, Ryan Sverchek, Billy Devers and Dan Beruck clearing the way, Pottsville put together back-to-back scoring drives of 83 and 84 yards that were capped by 1-yard runs from Tyler Moser.
A 44-yard pass from Moser to Blankenhorn triggered the first drive, while a 19-yard pass to A.J. Stevens aided the other.
Pottsville made it 23-14 with 5:32 left in the game on a 22-yard field goal by Kolby Kleckner, capping an 11-play, 73-yard march that featured a 48-yard screen pass to Jacoby on third down.
When Pottsville needed a big play, it went to the freshman.
"If there was a time to (have a breakout game), I'm glad it was now," Jacoby said. "After the first couple of big runs, it felt really good.
"The offensive line was the difference. Their blocking was great."
Blue Mountain answered Kleckner's field goal with a 55-yard TD run by Bornstein, who was named the Eagles' MVP after rushing 20 times for 197 yards and two scores.
His last touchdown came after he was injured on the final play of the third quarter and limped most of the fourth quarter.
"I didn't think he was coming back," Mabry said. "Will Bornstein is the ultimate of a competitor. He'll fight and scratch until the last tick is on the clock. He wants to be out there, he wants to be carrying the football, he wants to be a leader. What he did tonight was pretty remarkable."
Blue Mountain had one last chance to win the game, taking possession at its own 5-yard line after a 54-yard punt by Blankenhorn with 2:06 left.
The Eagles moved out to their own 45, but a sack by Dan Doyle and Tristan Shoopack ended Blue Mountain's hopes.
"It was great. Guys made plays when they needed to down the stretch," McGeoy said.
Including the freshman.